“(Wilson) knows how hard I was fighting,” Servia told USA TODAY Sports while standing on pit road after Sunday’s season-ending GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma. “It wasn’t easy for anyone on this team, as you can imagine. … I hope we made him proud in some way.”

Wilson died Monday of injuries sustained when debris from another car struck his helmet during a race Aug. 23 at Pocono Raceway. Oriol, a longtime friend and competitor with Wilson, was asked by Wilson’s family to drive the No. 25 Andretti Autosport Honda at Sonoma Raceway.

Servia got out of pit sequence and moved up to third place on two occasions before an impressive 12th-place effort after starting 19th.

“I was surprised,” Servia said. “Every day we got better. On Friday, it was really, really tough, but Saturday was much better and today we made another big step. I just felt really good in the car.”

It was Servia’s first road course race in an Indy car since the Grand Prix of Indianapolis in May 2014. He raced in Formula E before becoming a partner and managing Director of Jay Penske’s Dragon Racing.

“Every lap I kept remembering how to drive these things,” Servia said. “I could see I was as good as anyone. We took a strategy that I could’ve used to finish top five, easily. I was fighting with Briscoe, and I think had a little bit better car than he did. It was good until that last yellow. Everyone on our strategy got sent to the back at that point.”